Sunday, 30 September 2012

Nebraska Prep Golf Results Saturday

Oakland-Craig Invite

Team scoring: Columbus Scotus 385, Plainview 413, Elkhorn Valley 460, Battle Creek 471, Blair 487, Wayne 508, West Point-Beemer/Scribner-Snyder 508, Oakland-Craig 509, Stanton, Neb. 574, Pender NA, Tekamah-Herman NA.

Individual results: 1, Emily Allen, CS, 91. 2, Charli McNeill, O-C, 95. 2, Amy Price, CS, 95. 3, Stephanie Sorensen, P, 98. 4, Nieve Johnson, CS, 99. 5, Kate Rambour, CS, 100. 5, Varya Roberts, W, 100. 6, Rachel Sorensen, P, 101. 7, Sydney Langley, T-H, 103. 8, Jamie Dittrich, EV, 104. 8, Chandler Garris, B, 104. 8, Morgan Johnson, P, 104. 9, Bridget Henn, BC, 105. 9, Ryann Henn, BC, 105. 10, Abby Allen, CS, 108.

Source: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120929/SPORTS91/709299866

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Poland seeking 70 new military helicopters: PM

NATO-member Poland is in the market for 70 new military helicopters, more than double the number it first sought in March, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Wednesday.

"We're determined to speed up and expand our helicopter plans with the immediate decision to buy 70 helicopters for the Polish army," the PAP news agency quoted Tusk as saying.

Delivery of the first choppers is expected by 2014, he said, describing the cost of the project as "gigantic", but declining to name a figure.

In March, Warsaw announced a tender to buy 26 multipurpose helicopters for its army worth an estimated 1.5-3.0 billion zlotys (360-720 million euros, $480-960 million).

The move is seen as a significant step in the Polish army's drive to replace 250 Soviet-era helicopters in the years to come.

A former communist state of 38.2 million, among the first to join NATO in 1999 and member of the European Union since 2004, Poland has two helicopter plants, run by British-Italian AgustaWestland and the US Sikorsky Aircraft respectively.

Polish media have tipped them as the odds-on favourites in the tender.

AgustaWestland in 2010 bought Polish helicopter producer PZL Swidnik, which makes the Sokol helicopters used in rescue operations, by firefighters and for transport, and above all by the army.

It sells its helicopters in Poland, the Czech Republic and South Korea.

AgustaWestland plans to start producing AW 109, AW 119 and AW 139 helicopters in Swidnik in southern Poland, alongside parts for the AW 101 model.

Sikorsky has started to produce a new version of the Black Hawk S70i for export in the PZL Mielec plant, also in southern Poland

Tusk was on Wednesday visiting a military exercise range in Drawsko, northwest Poland, where Polish forces are currently staging their largest annual military exercise, code-named Anakonda 12.

He also announced that Poland's failed attempt to build its first naval corvette-type vessel -- a decade-old project dubbed Gawron and mired in allegations of high-level corruption -- will be salvaged by completing the craft as a patrol boat.

Source: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Poland_seeking_70_new_military_helicopters_PM_999.html

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Fan bites Danny Bonaduce at Wash. state casino

(AP) ? Former child TV star Danny Bonaduce says a crazed fan bit him during an event at a Washington state casino.

The former "Partridge Family" actor tells The News Tribune of Tacoma (http://is.gd/u3wfjM ) the woman asked him if she could kiss him and then sank her teeth into his cheek for about a minute until others pulled her off.

Bonaduce, who works these days as a radio DJ in Seattle, said the woman was taken into custody Friday, but he doesn't plan to press charges.

His face had a bright red mark a day later, when he said what he was thinking during the attack, "Bath salts," he said, referencing a designer drug linked to bizarre and violent behavior in users.

Bonaduce's wife, Amy, says her husband was treated with antibiotics.

___

Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-09-30-Danny%20Bonaduce-Attack/id-750ba2160c6549e89ab75310792b3133

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Saturday, 29 September 2012

Could 'Transylvania' And 'Looper' Give The Box Office A Shot In The Arm?

Joseph Gordon Levitt's sci-fi drama and kid-friendly 'Hotel Transylvania' to open this weekend amid a floundering box office.
By Ryan J. Downey


Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "Looper"
Photo: DMG Entertainment

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1694598/transylvania-looper-box-office.jhtml

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Apple?s Maps Is A Black Eye, Nothing More

IMG_9634Editor's Note: Jim Dalrymple is a former Editor at Large at Macworld, and contributing expert on Apple-related topics on CNN, Fox, CBS and ABC. You can follow Jim on Twitter at@jdalrymple, and on his blog The Loop. With the release of iOS 6 last week, Apple introduced a brand new version of Maps, the company's new turn-by-turn mapping application that replaced Google's offering on the iPhone. While the fervor over Maps has given Apple a black eye, it's certainly not the beginning of a downward spiral for the company, as some tech pundits like to say.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/dvpSSyQ4VHA/

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Friday, 28 September 2012

JMIR--The Smartphone in Medicine: A Review of Current and ...

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Patient Care and Monitoring

Our literature search found several examples of the use of the smartphone?s features for patient monitoring. One such example involved patients with Alzheimer disease. An attempt to deal with the risk of wandering was proposed with the use of the Android app iWander [4]. The app works by using the smartphone?s GPS to track the patient at all times. The patient?s age, level of dementia, and home location on the GPS are input into the software. If the GPS detects that the patient is away from his or her home (for example, uncharacteristically late in the day or during inclement weather), the algorithm may predict that the patient has become confused. The app then requests that the patient manually confirm his or her status. Not providing confirmation triggers an alarm that notifies the patient?s family and primary care doctor or contacts emergency personnel. It has also been suggested that identifying Alzheimer patients with depression might be possible simply by monitoring behaviors via the smartphone?s functions, such as their movements using Bluetooth technology, their communication patterns, and their level of activity from the GPS. It is important to note that this app is limited by factors such as GPS and Internet reliability. Also, an older patient with mild dementia may have little ability to use such modern devices.

The smartphone has also been used in rehabilitation [5]. Using smartphones connected via Bluetooth to a single-lead electrocardiograph (ECG) device, patients who were unable to attend traditional hospital-based rehabilitation were monitored in real time through their smartphones while they exercised in their own neighborhoods [6]. This small study followed 6 patients who recently had a coronary event or angioplasty for 116 exercise sessions. Information obtained from the smartphones allowed researchers to track their patients? heart rates, single-lead rhythms, locations, altitudes, and walking speeds. This information was then used to create custom exercise regimens, leading to improved postintervention 6-minute walk tests. Patients also reported reduced depression and improved quality of life on questionnaires.

Other studies demonstrated the smartphone?s potential in patient monitoring. Shoes fitted with sensors that communicate with the smartphone were used to follow the activity level of patients who have recently had a stroke [7]. The smartphone?s accelerometer can be used to interpret gait and balance of patients [8-11]. Another study entailed connecting a single-lead ECG to a smartphone to diagnose and follow treatment with sleep apnea [12], providing a possible alternative to costly and labor-intensive polysomnography. One study used smartphones to promote physical activity by asking participants to routinely log their results [13].

Recognizing the challenges of a growing elderly population, one group worked on the European Union-funded project Enhanced Complete Ambient Assisted Living Experiment [14]. This project intended to build a comprehensive remote monitoring system targeted at older people with chronic diseases. Using sensors attached to garments, continuous information was monitored and collected. Data from this 3-year project (June 2009 to May 2012) intended to show how smartphone technology provides an environment where older people can maintain their independence. At the same time, the researchers hoped to provide a way to minimize health care costs through early detection of acute illnesses and a decreased need for skilled nursing homes.

Patients with type 1 diabetes are also among those who could benefit from smartphone technology, by using Diabeo [15]. Diabeo is an app that collects information such as self-measured plasma glucose, carbohydrate counts, and planned physical activity prior to making insulin dosing recommendations. Researchers in France conducted a 6-month multicenter study of 180 adult patients with type 1 diabetes with glycated hemoglobin above 8%. They found that patients using Diabeo together with telephone conversations had lower glycated hemoglobin levels than those with clinic visits. The app was used safely with no differences in hypoglycemic events.

The ability to automatically monitor patients with diabetic and heart conditions from their smartphones is being developed [16]. This technology extends to other conditions such as movement disorders or bipolar disorder [17-19]. Additionally, engineers are testing the smartphone to be used as a device for monitoring patients? balance using the phone?s accelerometer [20].

The use of the smartphone as a patient-monitoring device has also been described in resource-poor countries. Smartphones used by health care workers treating malaria in rural Thailand allowed for better follow-up, medication adherence, and collection of information [21]. A similar study in Kenya allowed workers to collect data during home visits [22].

With a hands-free microphone, the smartphone has been used to record heart sounds for tracking heart rate and heart rate variability. The phone?s camera along with its light-emitting diode light source has been shown to measure heart rate accurately [23]. Recently, teams have begun working on ECG recording devices that work with smartphones [24,25]. Moreover, the smartphone is being used for echocardiography [26]. MobiSante (MobiSante, Inc, Redmond, WA, USA) became the first company to design and build a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cell phone-based medical diagnostic tool with an ultrasound probe in January 2011. A smartphone connected to a Doppler device has been used for blood flow measurement [27].

Health Apps for the Layperson

In our review we did not find clear data describing usage trends of apps for patients. Additionally, we did not find any evidence that these apps lead to wellness. Here we briefly review some apps mentioned in our literature search for laypersons.

Weight loss and fitness apps are among the most used. The apps Lose It! and Calorie Counter provide a way for people to keep track of how many calories they consume and burn for better control of their weight loss goals [28]. Based on the input information, such as the type and quantity of food consumed, these apps calculate the user?s total daily caloric expenditure.

Other apps help track the amount of exercise an individual does. Using the GPS and accelerometer, phones can be turned into and navigators and pedometers [28].

Wellness apps that teach yoga are available, as are apps that focus on other forms of relaxation such as breathing [28]. Women can input the dates of their periods and body temperature to help predict ovulation. Some apps remind a patient to take his or her medication. Other apps contain an individual?s important medical information such as allergies, medications, and contact phone numbers in the event of an emergency. There is also an iPhone app that offers free hearing tests [29].

Of the available data concerning the validity of apps to promote wellness, a review of obesity-related apps for diet and exercise showed that a vast majority of them rated low on a custom scoring system based on topics covered, accuracy, and other parameters [30]. Similar findings were noted with reviews of apps for alcohol abuse and smoking cessation [31,32].

One report described a method of surveying participants to create a framework from which to create an app promoting physical activity [33].

iTriage (iTriage, LLC, Denver, CO, USA) is an app that provides patients with information such as the locations of nearby emergency rooms, doctors by specialty, and other practical information [34]. It provides emergency room wait times and allows for registration via the app at participating locations. Another similar app was designed to improve diagnosis and treatment times of stroke patients [35]. ZocDoc (ZocDoc, Inc, New York, NY, USA) allows patients to conveniently make appointments with physicians who choose to use this system. Patients can view open slots and other information about participating doctors.

Communication, Education, and Research

The smartphone has been used for years in hospitals with limited network capability [36]. It also has been shown to improve communication among doctors and nurses on inpatient wards. Timely communication within hospitals remains a fundamental means by which to reduce medical errors [37]. The internal medicine program at Toronto General Hospital conducted a study using dedicated BlackBerrys for each medical team [38]. Nurses could call the team or use a Web program to send emails to these phones for less-urgent issues. Overall, surveys from residents reported improvements in communication and decreased disruption of workflow. Nurses reported decreased time spent attempting to contact physicians; however, there was no change in response time for urgent issues. Another study by this group also illustrated the efficiency of smartphones over pagers but noted a perceived increase in interruptions and weakened interprofessional relationships [39]. They also reported value in the ability to receive nonurgent messages via email; however, there has been disagreement as to what types of messages are appropriate for various communication methods [40].

Communication is also affected by integrating with electronic medical records. One company, Epic Systems (Epic Systems Corporation, Verona, WI, USA) has partnered with Apple (Apple Inc, Cupertino, CA, USA), releasing versions of Epic for both the iPhone and iPad [41]. Another app specifically designed for one particular hospital is being created to provide doctors with access to patient records from smartphones [42].

Interesting and educational patient physical findings are better documented with the use of the phone?s camera. A group demonstrated that they could accurately diagnose acute stroke on brain computed tomography scans through the use of iPhones with identical accuracy to standard workstations [43]. Another study of stroke patients found comparable examinations of patients in person and via iPhone [44].

Several examples demonstrating the smartphone?s role in communication can be found in developing countries with scarce resources [45]. In Africa, the amount of network coverage to send text messages with pictures ranges from 1.5% to 92.2% [46], providing an opportunity to send pictures of physical findings to aid in telediagnosis. Pictures from phone cameras of Gram stains have been sent via text messaged for remote diagnosis [47]. Video clips of limited echocardiographic studies were taken in remote Honduran villages sent via iPhones to experts for interpretation [48]. This has been reproduced with lung ultrasound [49]. Engineers have created various microscopes that attach to smartphones, providing a cost-effective and mobile way to bring more technology to poor and rural regions [50-52]. Development of point-of-care apps for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection treatment to support physicians with limited HIV training in undeveloped regions is expected to minimize errors and improve outcomes [53].

Outbreaks Near Me (HealthMap, Boston Children?s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA) provides information on disease outbreaks by geography [28,54]. This project, funded by Google and done in collaboration with organizations including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obtains information from multiple resources, including online news, eyewitness accounts, and official reports.

In one example of the uses of the smartphone in medical education, doctors who were trained to use a smartphone app for teaching advanced life support had significantly improved scores during cardiac arrest simulation testing [55]. A survey among medical residents in Botswana showed how a smartphone preinstalled with medical apps can be an effective way to obtain information in a resource-poor region [56].

We found two articles describing the use of the smartphone in medical research. In one example, the smartphone was used to improve data collection during trials [57]. In another, a study of falls risk in the elderly, the smartphone?s accelerometer was used to help detect those at higher risk [58].

Physician and Student Reference Apps

During our literature review, we found very limited data regarding the use of reference apps by physicians or medical students.

A study in 2010 claimed that over 60% of physicians surveyed felt that Epocrates (Epocrates, Inc, San Mateo, CA, USA) helped to reduce medical errors [59]. Epocrates claims that their app can help save 20 minutes of time each day for many of their users [60], but this is not supported by the evidence base.

Here we summarize the database search identifying how the smartphone is being used in medicine. We focused on data that would either support or negate the impact of the smartphone and then surveyed the range of uses to better understand the forms in which that impact might occur.

With respect to patient care and monitoring, we found various ways of using the smartphone to monitor patients. We identified research attempting to provide evidence that the smartphone has advantages in this area; however, much of this is still in the preliminary phase. Apps such as iWander for people with dementia (see Patient Care and Monitoring above) could improve quality of life and decrease financial burden. Approximately 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer disease, and it has been estimated that this number could quadruple by the year 2050 [61]. As we enter a new era of rising medical costs exacerbated by a growing elderly population, our health care system is looking for ways to meet the rising demand. It remains to be seen whether the smartphone can help.

We found a wide range of apps for the layperson, from wellness apps to apps that allow improved communication with health care providers. The greatest concern is the general lack of regulation and an evidence base for many of these wellness apps. Much like the general information available on websites, the content of many health-related apps is poorly scrutinized for accuracy. The FDA does not control the content of most apps; only when apps cross the line of providing direct medical advice does the FDA make approval mandatory. An example of this is the diabetes app WellDoc DiabetesManager System (WellDoc, Inc, Baltimore, MD, USA), which required FDA approval when it started providing medical advice based on input blood glucose levels. Other apps available for free download include symptom checkers, where people can input basic symptoms such as abdominal pain and get a whole list of possible causes, prompting inappropriate self-diagnosis and unneeded anxiety.

Not surprisingly, we found a larger number of articles that discussed ways in which the smartphone is improving communication on internal medicine wards. These results suggest that there may be a role for better communication between doctors and nurses; however, drawbacks such as weakened interprofessional relationships may produce new issues. We found it interesting that many people are looking into using the smartphone for remote diagnosis. It is easy to imagine the huge benefits that could be reaped in resource-poor regions of the world, but this may also lead to a change in insurance companies? reimbursement methods. In the future, patients may not need to see their physicians in person as often to get the same quality of care. However, we have not found any evidence specific to the smartphone to support this.

We also find some examples of the smartphone?s use in education, such as a program that teaches cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the use of smartphones by students in resource-poor countries. Medical schools in the United States are also beginning to use technology more in their curriculum. For example, at Stanford University?s medical school all students are given an iPad to use in place of text books. Online resources are easily accessed.

As the role of the smartphone continues to grow, we can only expect that its role in medical education will expand with more institutions incorporating it into their curriculums. However, we need to have better evidence to support both its use and methods of how best to use it.

Among our categories, we found that the area most lacking in evidence is the use of smartphones for physician or student reference apps. We found only one older study looking into the effectiveness of apps to aid in the practice of medicine, with Epocrates. There is no clear reported data on usage statistics, but we presume that given the high number physicians with smartphones and the large availability of apps, many physicians are using these reference apps. A survey of health care providers showed that attitudes toward using smartphones are in general very positive [62].

Medical Reference Apps

Given the importance of medical reference apps and the paucity of published data regarding available apps and the evidence for their use, we present a list of commonly used apps and make suggestions for future research toward better understanding their utility. This list of apps derives from our anecdotal experience, for which we have given preference to apps known to have a vast database, to have reliable content, to be well respected (or contain information adapted from well-respected resources), and to have been available for many years. There are no conflicts of interest. We review some of the most popular and important apps being used to enhance continuing medical education, improve patient care, and promote communication (Table 1).

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Table 1. List and description of popular medical applications for physicians.

Epocrates is well known for offering a free, up-to-date pharmacologic reference that is available for all smartphone platforms. Strengths of this program include drug dosage guidelines, adverse reactions, mechanism of action, and a drug interaction checker. Epocrates also offers an upgrade to the full version that includes more comprehensive disease and laboratory information. Another resource for pharmacologic reference is mobilePDR (PDR Network, LLC, Montvale, NJ, USA), available for free to doctors after validation of credentials.

Another resource in medical-related apps for doctors is Skyscape (Skyscape.com, Inc., Marlborough, MA, USA). Skyscape focuses on creating mobile phone apps for all health care professions and boasts over 600 apps spanning 35 specialties. They formulate popular textbooks into searchable programs on the smartphone. There are many notable apps, including Massachusetts General Hospital?s Pocket Medicine and The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics. Unbound Medicine (Unbound Medicine, Inc, Charlottesville, VA, USA) produces a similar product offering. Both companies have apps available for many categories, including pharmacology, medical references, and medical dictionaries.

DynaMed (Figure 2) is a full medical reference app from EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO Publishing Inc, Ipswich, MA, USA). DynaMed houses a large repository of disease, syndrome, and drug information. It differs from other resources such as UpToDate (UpToDate, Inc, Waltham, MA, USA) in that it optimizes its content for use and display on a mobile platform. Once the app is fully downloaded, an Internet connection is no longer needed to access this program. 5-Minute Clinical Consult (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, USA) is another medical reference app organized similarly to DynaMed. UpToDate offers a mobile Web version of their ubiquitous Web platform that is similar in organization but does not offer a smartphone app.

A popular infectious diseases resource is Johns Hopkins? Antibiotic Guide (Unbound Medicine, Inc), providing detailed information regarding antibiotics and pathogens. Another well-known antibiotic resource is the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy (Antimicrobial Therapy, Inc, Sperryville, VA, USA).

Mobile differential diagnosis programs can help ensure that common diagnoses are not overlooked or discovered too late. One such well-known program is Diagnosaurus (The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc; New York, NY, USA).

Other apps, such as medical calculators, are very prevalent in app stores and can help quickly calculate risk scores or other common calculations, such as water deficit in hypernatremia. Skyscape offers a free medical calculator called Archimedes. Lastly, medical dictionaries such as Taber?s, Stedman?s, and Dorland?s are invaluable resources to have readily available in one?s pocket.

An app for primary prevention is offered for free by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The AHRQ Electronic Preventive Services Selector is an app designed to assist primary care physicians in identifying screening, counseling, and preventive measures based on their patient?s age, sex, and other risk factors.

The aforementioned programs are just a few of the large number of evolving resources on the mobile phone. Companies such as Medscape (Medscape, LLC, New York, NY, USA) offer a mobile resource for medical and drug information. They also provide medical news and case studies for continuing education. QxMD (QxMD Software Inc, Vancouver, BC, Canada) specializes in mobile medical programs such as their popular ECG Guide. Information from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision (ICD-9) can be quickly obtained from QxMD?s ICD-9 app. DynaMed?s app also contains ICD-9 information. QuantiaMD (Quantia Communications, Inc, Waltham, MA, USA) has a mobile app that specializes in continuing medical education by providing well-scripted interactive case studies that can be shared with colleagues (Figure 3). Continuing medical education credits can also be earned. MedPage Today (MedPage Today, LLC, Little Falls, NJ, USA) allows physicians to stay on top of the latest medical news, organize news by interest, and earn continuing medical education credits.

Doximity (Doximity Inc, San Mateo, CA, USA) has been likened to a Facebook for doctors. It allows physicians, once registered, to network and even communicate patient-related information in a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant text messaging environment (Figure 4). A credential check of a potential user?s medical license (which is already in their database) is required to sign up.

While many of these apps have been available for years and are very popular, there are still no data to both support their use and help us understand how best to use them. We believe that studies surveying doctors on the perceived impact that specific apps create, as well as examining patient care outcomes, can help us understand how powerful these apps can be. The use of these apps by students while on clinical rotations can also support education at the bedside. This could translate into an improved quality of education that could be a focus of examination.

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Figure 4. Doximity connects colleagues from around the United States and allows for secure communication.

Drawbacks and Obstacles

Although there are numerous benefits to integrating smartphones into the practice of medicine and one?s personal life, there are noteworthy limitations. We again emphasize the ramifications mentioned above of patients self-diagnosing using apps that are not regulated. Moreover, the major technological improvements of both hardware and software are still relatively new and, thus, sometimes unreliable. Furthermore, older physicians and others less inclined to use or intimidated by new technologies may be at a disadvantage if the use of smartphones becomes more requisite within medicine. Similarly, elderly patients may find it difficult to use and interpret the information provided to them by their smartphone, possibly putting them at greater risk than those who are more technologically savvy. And finally, as we become more dependent on technology, we become more dependent on it working flawlessly, with catastrophic implications when it fails.

Doctors and patients are not able to take full advantage of smartphone technology in areas such as teleconferencing, sending pictures, and emailing, due to health care system reimbursement processes in the United States. These systems usually reimburse only the time spent with patients face-to-face. As the smartphone integrates its way even more permanently into our medical practices, a greater question arises: will this mobile technology improve communication between doctors and patients or detract from it by limiting the personalized interactions that occur best at the bedside or in the office?

Limitations of This Review

The major limitation of the review stems from the overall paucity of high-quality studies such as multicentered or controlled trials using the smartphone in medicine. While we did find some studies of patient monitoring and communication, even these categories leave many questions to be answered, and future studies are either planned or underway.

Additionally, we again note that this review did not include papers that demonstrated novel uses of the smartphone in the field of surgery and its surgical subspecialties. As internal medicine physicians, we felt that our analysis on this subject may be inaccurate and thus chose not to include this.

Another limitation of this study is the rapid and evolving nature of this technology. We intended to make this review as up-to-date as possible, including the addition of new reports just prior to publication of this paper; however, this topic is evolving as rapidly as advancements in the industry are made, outpacing our ability to provide the most current study possible.

Conclusion

The amount of research in the use of the smartphone in medicine is rapidly growing, but there are very few good-quality studies to answer many questions about its use and the impact it may have. Apps for pharmacology, medical references, and a myriad of other categories are providing physicians with quick and practical medical information that will aid in education and patient care. Communication within hospitals and between patients is improving. Additionally, developing countries now have the potential to access better diagnostic tools in resource-poor regions. However, many obstacles still stand in the way of this progress. The question regarding whether smartphones in medicine will lead to a healthier population with better patient?doctor relationships remains to be answered. Nevertheless, the smartphone has a very bright future in the world of medicine, while doctors, engineers, and others alike continue to contribute more ingenuity to this dynamic field. It is our hope that by informing the medical community of the numerous ways in which the smartphone can be used to benefit health care providers, patients, and their families, the smartphone may one day be recognized as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool that is as irreplaceable as the stethoscope has been in the practice of medicine.


Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Lauren Maggio, MS (LIS), MA, Director of Research and Instruction at Stanford University?s Lane Library, for her invaluable support with this review. We would also like to thank Kelley Skeff, MD, for his advice. We finally thank the editor, reviewers, and our colleagues for their useful comments, which greatly helped to improve this paper.


Conflicts of Interest

None declared.


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?

Abbreviations

AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
ECG: electrocardiograph
FDA: Food and Drug Administration
GPS: global positioning system
ICD-9: International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision



Edited by G Eysenbach; submitted 11.11.11; peer-reviewed by R Wu, F Wodajo; comments to author 15.01.12; revised version received 06.02.12; accepted 01.08.12; published 27.09.12

Please cite as:
Ozdalga E, Ozdalga A, Ahuja N
The Smartphone in Medicine: A Review of Current and Potential Use Among Physicians and Students
J Med Internet Res 2012;14(5):e128
URL: http://www.jmir.org/2012/5/e128/
doi: 10.2196/jmir.1994
PMID:

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Copyright

?Errol Ozdalga, Ark Ozdalga, Neera Ahuja. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 27.09.2012.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.


Source: http://www.jmir.org/2012/5/e128/

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LeBron James: Champion Heat can be better

Miami Heat basketball players LeBron James, left, and Ray Allen wait for their turn to have their pictures taken during the team's NBA media day in Miami, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. ?(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Heat basketball players LeBron James, left, and Ray Allen wait for their turn to have their pictures taken during the team's NBA media day in Miami, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. ?(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Heat basketball player LeBron James poses for photos during the team's NBA media day in Miami, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. ?(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Miami Heat head basketball coach Erik Spoelstra smiles during the team's media day in Miami, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Miami Heat head basketball coach Erik Spoelstra speaks during the team's NBA media day in Miami, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Miami Heat basketball players Dwyane Wade, left, and Mario Chalmers joke around during the team's NBA media day in Miami, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. ?(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

(AP) ? LeBron James was back in the Miami Heat locker room on Friday morning, took a look around at his teammates and quickly came to a realization.

The reigning NBA champions might even be better this time around.

With 12 players back from last season's championship roster ? foremost among them himself, after a season where he won the NBA's MVP award, the NBA Finals MVP, his first league title and then an Olympic gold medal over the summer for good measure ? the Heat clearly have tons of talent. Adding Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to the mix figures to make them that much better.

Naturally, James isn't complaining.

"It's scary to see, to look in our locker room today and say that we can be better than we were this past season," James said. "Are we better right now than we were just a couple months ago? Of course not.

"But we have the potential to be better. We have the potential to be a lot better. That is scary."

Friday was the annual media day for the Heat, who open their training camp officially with practice on Saturday morning ? the Heat can open camp earlier than most other teams because they have a trip to China in early October.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh talked about how they're continuing to heal after injuries dogged them in last season's playoffs, and Udonis Haslem was followed around by a camera crew there to, as he said, document "The Little 12," his description for everyone not in the "Big Three" club of Wade, Bosh and James.

Haslem's cameras might have been the only ones not on James, who hasn't spoken publicly much since the Olympics ended.

"He's not on cruise control, no," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about James. "He's as driven a professional as I've been around. He understands not only his legacy, but team legacy and the opportunity that this team and organization has. And he savors that. He's the ultimate competitor."

It took James nine years to win that long-coveted first title, after leading the Heat past the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. His clinching performance was a classic ? a triple-double, 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. James came out with 3:01 remaining and the celebrating started, waving his arms and jumping on the sideline, then wrapping anyone and everyone he could reach in massive embraces.

So began his summer vacation. It lasted about a week.

Not long after the champagne dried and the Heat parade ended, James went to play for the U.S. Olympic Team, helping the Americans win gold. After that, some business dealings ? including a trip to China and a switch of agents, from Leon Rose to Rich Paul ? took up more of his offseason.

And now, training camp has already arrived.

Not much down time, but neither James nor the Heat seems all that concerned.

"I've worked on a few things," James said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-09-28-Heat-James/id-804e6e78aa5741ba875ebe58c84a86f3

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Jetpack Joyride now available on Google Play

Android Central

After a brief exclusive period on the Amazon Appstore, Jetpack Joyride is now available for all on Google Play. You can get a full look at the game over at our review, but the tl;dr version goes a little something like this: use one-touch controls to lift a disgruntled office drone into the air with his minigun jetpack, dodge security systems, collect coins, buy cool new gadgets. Rince, repeat.

Jetpack Joyride is a classic, and it sure has taken its sweet time finding its way to Android. Who's interested in giving it a shot? Does the gameplay feel dated at all, or has it still retained its charm from a year ago?



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/_ZKLOqkH58I/story01.htm

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Thursday, 27 September 2012

GIRLS SOCCER: Tigers get first win over GSL - Hutchinson Leader ...

By STEPHEN WIBEMO

sports@hutchinsonleader.com

The girls soccer team?s wait came to an end Tuesday as they won their first game of the year in a 4-0 drubbing of Glencoe-Silver Lake.

The Panthers embarrassed the Tigers earlier this year, beating them 3-0 in their home opener. It was the first time GSL beat Hutch in its three years as a varsity squad.

With time running out to get a win in the regular season, the Tigers exacted their revenge on the Panthers.

Hutch goalie Emily Olinger saved 14 shots to shut out the Panthers, and attackers Rebecca Rancour and Mariah Mraz took turns scoring one goal each in both halves.

Climbing out of the cellar

With a handful of WCC games left in the regular season, the Tigers have a chance to get out of last place by the end of the week.

Both Hutch and GSL are 1-7 in the conference, each with a win against the other.

Hutch faced Holy Family Saturday, and has games against Waconia and Delano on Tuesday and Thursday.

The Panthers have only one game left against Holy Family on Thursday.

The reason for the uneven number of conference games is because the WCC has a power schedule.

That means the conference standings are decided by points, which are earned for wins and ties.

Most conference teams play each other twice, and each of those games is worth two points.

Some teams only play each other once in the regular season, though, and those games are worth four points.

The maximum number of points a team can earn is 24.

With only one game left, the most GSL could win is four more points against the Fire.

Hutch has the possibility of winning six points, but it won?t be easy for either teams to get points in the final week.

The Tigers? final three games are all against teams that beat them once already by four goals or more.

Hutchinson?? ?2? 2 ? 4

Glencoe-SL?? ?0? 0 ? 0?? ?

First half ? 1. Rebecca Rancour (Mariah Mraz); 2. Mraz (Rancour).

Second half ? 3. Mraz (Rancour), 4. Rancour (unass).

Shots ? Hutch: 12; GSL: 14

Saves ? Hutch: Emily Olinger 14; Brianna Elsing 8

Source: http://www.hutchinsonleader.com/news/sports/girls-soccer-tigers-get-first-win-over-gsl/article_e0095f5a-08e8-11e2-b0e6-001a4bcf6878.html

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Artificially intelligent game bots pass the Turing test on Turing's centenary

ScienceDaily (Sep. 26, 2012) ? An artificially intelligent virtual gamer created by computer scientists at The University of Texas at Austin has won the BotPrize by convincing a panel of judges that it was more human-like than half the humans it competed against.

The competition was sponsored by 2K Games and was set inside the virtual world of "Unreal Tournament 2004," a first-person shooter video game. The winners were announced this month at the IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games.

"The idea is to evaluate how we can make game bots, which are nonplayer characters (NPCs) controlled by AI algorithms, appear as human as possible," said Risto Miikkulainen, professor of computer science in the College of Natural Sciences. Miikkulainen created the bot, called the UT^2 game bot, with doctoral students Jacob Schrum and Igor Karpov.

The bots face off in a tournament against one another and about an equal number of humans, with each player trying to score points by eliminating its opponents. Each player also has a "judging gun" in addition to its usual complement of weapons. That gun is used to tag opponents as human or bot.

The bot that is scored as most human-like by the human judges is named the winner. UT^2, which won a warm-up competition last month, shared the honors with MirrorBot, which was programmed by Romanian computer scientist Mihai Polceanu.

The winning bots both achieved a humanness rating of 52 percent. Human players received an average humanness rating of only 40 percent. The two winning teams will split the $7,000 first prize.

The victory comes 100 years after the birth of mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, whose "Turing test" stands as one of the foundational definitions of what constitutes true machine intelligence. Turing argued that we will never be able to see inside a machine's hypothetical consciousness, so the best measure of machine sentience is whether it can fool us into believing it is human.

"When this 'Turing test for game bots' competition was started, the goal was 50 percent humanness," said Miikkulainen. "It took us five years to get there, but that level was finally reached last week, and it's not a fluke."

The complex gameplay and 3-D environments of "Unreal Tournament 2004" require that bots mimic humans in a number of ways, including moving around in 3-D space, engaging in chaotic combat against multiple opponents and reasoning about the best strategy at any given point in the game. Even displays of distinctively human irrational behavior can, in some cases, be emulated.

"People tend to tenaciously pursue specific opponents without regard for optimality," said Schrum. "When humans have a grudge, they'll chase after an enemy even when it's not in their interests. We can mimic that behavior."

In order to most convincingly mimic as much of the range of human behavior as possible, the team takes a two-pronged approach. Some behavior is modeled directly on previously observed human behavior, while the central battle behaviors are developed through a process called neuroevolution, which runs artificially intelligent neural networks through a survival-of-the-fittest gauntlet that is modeled on the biological process of evolution.

Networks that thrive in a given environment are kept, and the less fit are thrown away. The holes in the population are filled by copies of the fit ones and by their "offspring," which are created by randomly modifying (mutating) the survivors. The simulation is run for as many generations as are necessary for networks to emerge that have evolved the desired behavior.

"In the case of the BotPrize," said Schrum, "a great deal of the challenge is in defining what 'human-like' is, and then setting constraints upon the neural networks so that they evolve toward that behavior.

"If we just set the goal as eliminating one's enemies, a bot will evolve toward having perfect aim, which is not very human-like. So we impose constraints on the bot's aim, such that rapid movements and long distances decrease accuracy. By evolving for good performance under such behavioral constraints, the bot's skill is optimized within human limitations, resulting in behavior that is good but still human-like."

Miikkulainen said that methods developed for the BotPrize competition should eventually be useful not just in developing games that are more entertaining, but also in creating virtual training environments that are more realistic, and even in building robots that interact with humans in more pleasant and effective ways.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Texas at Austin, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/consumer_behavior/~3/z_9Y-xYhQ78/120926133235.htm

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Finally, a movie about female friendship without the trauma | Troy ...

For A Good Time, Call . . .

Translation EnglishFrenchGermanItalianPortugueseRussianSpanish

September 26, 2012

CALGARY, AB, Sep 26, 2012/ Troy Media/ ? Finally, a movie that demonstrates quite clearly what?s been missing from mainstream filmmaking; a female friendship movie that does not involve trauma, violence, death, deviance, or fighting over the same man.

For A Good Time, Call . . . is not ?just? a chick-flick: it touches on the wide variety of male perceptions about sex and desire as well, as seen from the perspective of the three male characters in the film: the gay, the supportive, and the boringly selfish. Ultimately, however, it is about women and the divergent, paradoxical nature of sex for the modern woman.

The story begins in New York with Lauren (played by Lauren Miller) and Charlie (James Wolk) discussing their relationship which ends with Charlie telling Lauren that he finds her boring and that he?s leaving her. He then heads off to Italy for work and some earthy excitement.

Enter Katie Steele (Ari Graynor), who is having troubles with her rent and needs a roommate. Jesse, a gay friend to both Katie and Lauren since university, (played by Justin Long in a somewhat similar role we?ve seen in He?s Just Not That Into You), sees this mutual need and brings them together.

The two women have a past together, a relationship that had been tense because of their contrasting personalities ? Lauren was a bit quiet and certainly not a ?party girl? while Katie was on the wild side, loud and wildly flirtatious ? which leads them to resist sharing an apartment. But, needs being needs, Lauren moves in with Katie.

Then Lauren is fired from her job in publishing and finds that Katie, perpetually short of money, works on a phone sex line. After her initial shock, Lauren suggests that Katie start her own business, helping her in the enterprise as business manager.

This is where the story starts to change, as the women grow both closer together and as people. Lauren helps out on the phone sex line and becomes more confident in her work and private life, while Katie matures and begins her first real relationship. Their friendship develops into something quite profound and is first expressed by Lauren in that awkward way that people in new relationships do.

But things start to go awry: first, Lauren?s conventional parents are told of how she?s been making her money, and then Katie becomes distraught when Lauren takes her dream job in publishing rather than help the phone sex line business.

Along the way, we meet several of the customers in some unexpected and funny vignettes, mostly of men who reveal the somewhat seedier side of male desires. These male characters, however, are mediated and distant (though phones) and are not the focus of the film.

Even the main male characters in the film, Charlie, Jesse and Sean, are merely supportive, not central to the real meaning of this film. It is really about the limiting dichotomy of the ?virgin? and the ?whore? that modern women are offered as acceptable social roles. Both women are envious of each other?s life ? Katie?s sexual freedom and Lauren?s social respectability.

Balance is reached between the two through the confidence both women get from the phone sex work that they do. Lauren learns to be less uptight about sex and starts to realise that there?s more to sex than the bland and the boring labours of the missionary. She also realises she?s not ?boring?, but that Charlie and her parents are, enabling her to find self respect, to move with confidence and gain the respect of others. Katie, meanwhile, finds herself starting her first real relationship and learns to open herself to the possibility that someone loves her enough to allow her to share her deep, dark secret.

The film contains a sub-theme here about the successful modern female, which is not about being a man-hater, perpetually angry at the lot of women, or even submissive to social expectations, but rather about the expression of confidence. Both Lauren and Katie become professionally-, economically-, and emotionally-successful women because they become confident in their own sexuality. They are able to express their desires and fears, but also have mature, supportive, and engaging female relationships rather than see other women as rivals. They also learn that they do not deserve disrespectful partners who treat them like dirt, but that they should seek out supportive, respectful, and fun partners to share their lives.

In fact, this film isn?t really about two women, but one woman ? or really all women. It tells us about the plight of modern women and the key to their successes in life, work, and play. It is about communication and mediation, centring on the need to tell yourself and others what you really need and want. It shows the paucity of cheap masturbatory thrills and the richness of complete unmediated relationships.

For A Good Time, Call . . . cannot simply be labelled ?just a chick-flick? as it is devoid of the trauma and death we find in Beaches, goes beyond the simplistic female relationship in Thelma and Louise, and does not require the egotistical ?journey? of ?I? in Eat, Pray, Love. It reminds men also that the most sexy thing a woman can be is self confident with her sexuality, and that she should not be reproached with name calling or threatened with sexual assault. There are mature discussions of real relationships and the need we have to express ourselves. These are qualities that are not limited to either gender.

Cast: Ari Graynor, Lauren Miller, and Justin Long
Director: Jamie Travis
Written by: Lauren Miller and Katie Anne Naylor
Running time:
85 minutes
Buy now!

Troy Media Columnist Glenn R. Wilkinson is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary and teaches in the History Department and the Department of Communication and Culture.

This column is FREE to use on your websites or in your publications. However, Troy Media, with a link to its web site, MUST be credited.



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  3. Is the U.S. consumer finally back? EDMONTON, AB, Dec. 6, 2011/ Troy Media/ - Few factors have more impact on the world economy than the willingness of the American consumer to spend....
  4. War, weddings, and women: The African Queen CALGARY, AB, Oct. 27, 2011/Troy Media/ - War films reveal cultural attitudes towards gender, especially about the times in which they were made....
  5. Film review: 50/50: Love and friendship, life and death CALGARY, AB, Oct. 20, 2011/Troy Media/ - A comedy about cancer, 50/50 follows the many complex reactions of others, giving us a truly heart-felt and funny treatment....
  6. Warrior: More than a fight movie cliche CALGARY, AB, Sept. 29, 2011/Troy Media/ - The honourable and the virtuous will eventually win out over the psychotic and troubled. ...

Source: http://www.troymedia.com/2012/09/26/finally-a-movie-about-female-friendship-without-the-trauma/

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Wednesday, 26 September 2012

NIST Funds Five Pilot Projects to Promote Online Security | HITECH ...

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a non-regulatory federal agency that operates as part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Established in 1902 the NIST core mission is to advance science, standards, and technology ?to enhance economic security. NIST carries out this mission in part by conducting research to help U.S. companies improve products and services.

Last week the organization announced a $9 million grant awards program to support the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). Five organizations were awarded grants for a pilot program to demonstrate secure online transactions. The goal of the program includes increasing confidence in electronic sharing of personal health information.?NSTIC envisions an ?Identity Ecosystem? in which technologies, policies and consensus-based standards support greater trust and security when individuals, businesses and other organizations conduct sensitive transactions online.

?Increasing confidence in online transactions fosters innovation and economic growth,? said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher. ?These investments in the development of identity solutions will help protect our citizens from identity theft and other types of fraud, while helping our businesses, especially small businesses, reduce their costs.?

The grant program covers multiple sectors and will test and demonstrate new solutions, models or frameworks that currently don?t exist today.

The grantees of the pilot include?Resilient Network Systems, receiving $2 million for healthcare and education pilots to develop a secure network built on encryption technology.?The Resilient pilot seeks to demonstrate that sensitive health and education transactions on the Internet can earn patient and parent trust. Resilient will partner with the AMA, Aetna, the American College of Cardiology, ActiveHealth Management, Medicity, LexisNexis, NaviNet, the San Diego Beacon eHealth Community, Gorge Health Connect, the Kantara Initiative, and the National eHealth Collaborative.

Learn more the NSTIC at: ?http://www.nist.gov/nstic/

Tags: Cybersecurity, Health Information Exchange, HIPAA Data Security, NIST, NSTIC

Category: Health Information Technology

Source: http://www.hitechanswers.net/nist-funds-five-pilot-projects-to-promote-online-security/

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New 'Skinny' on Leptin

New 'Skinny' on Leptin [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 26-Sep-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Denise Henry
henryd@uakron.edu
330-972-6477
University of Akron

Obesity hormone linked to hearing and vision problems

Akron, Ohio, Sept. 26, 2012 Leptin commonly dubbed the "fat hormone" does more than tell the brain when to eat. A new study by researchers at The University of Akron and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) shows that leptin may play a role in hearing and vision loss. This discovery, made in zebrafish treated to produce low leptin, could ultimately help doctors better understand sensory loss in humans.

While the scientists expected the leptin-deficient fish would be unable metabolize fat, "we did not expect that the leptin also affects the development of sensory systems," says Richard Londraville, UA professor of biology.

"We discovered that leptin influences the development of eyes and ears in fish," says Londraville, explaining how the popular hormone of study (the subject of about 30,000 reports since its 1994 discovery) also controls body temperature, immune function and bone density. The hormone's newly discovered impact on the sensory systems of fish draws renewed interest to previous leptin research on mice, Londraville says. These studies revealed that leptin loss also affects eye and ear development in mice.

Published in the Sept. 15, 2012 General and Comparative Endocrinology journal, "Knockdown of leptin A expression dramatically alters zebrafish development" explores leptin's evolution, or what it used to do, to provide clues to its impact on humans.

"There is some evidence that leptin deficiencies in fish likely have the same effect on humans, so this may be pointing toward something more widespread than we thought," Londraville says. "Perhaps more research should be spent on the sensory effects of leptin, which hasn't received much attention."

Londraville and his research colleagues will further their research, which was initially launched with a $250,000 National Institutes of Health grant. The team was granted an additional $435,000 in NIH funding, which they will use over the next three years to study how leptin is controlled differently in mammals and fish and the resulting consequences.

###

About The University of Akron

The University of Akron offers more than 300 associate, bachelor's, master's, doctorate and law degree programs with accreditations by 35 professional agencies. With nearly 30,000 students and $46.7 million in sponsored research awards, UA is among the nation's strongest public universities focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and investment in community and economic growth. Programs are targeted to diverse groups of learners, including full-time, part-time and on-line students, veterans, and adults returning to the classroom. The distinctive Akron Experience enhances post-graduate success through internships and co-ops, academic research (both undergraduate and graduate), study abroad, on-campus student employment, and service projects.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


New 'Skinny' on Leptin [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 26-Sep-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Denise Henry
henryd@uakron.edu
330-972-6477
University of Akron

Obesity hormone linked to hearing and vision problems

Akron, Ohio, Sept. 26, 2012 Leptin commonly dubbed the "fat hormone" does more than tell the brain when to eat. A new study by researchers at The University of Akron and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) shows that leptin may play a role in hearing and vision loss. This discovery, made in zebrafish treated to produce low leptin, could ultimately help doctors better understand sensory loss in humans.

While the scientists expected the leptin-deficient fish would be unable metabolize fat, "we did not expect that the leptin also affects the development of sensory systems," says Richard Londraville, UA professor of biology.

"We discovered that leptin influences the development of eyes and ears in fish," says Londraville, explaining how the popular hormone of study (the subject of about 30,000 reports since its 1994 discovery) also controls body temperature, immune function and bone density. The hormone's newly discovered impact on the sensory systems of fish draws renewed interest to previous leptin research on mice, Londraville says. These studies revealed that leptin loss also affects eye and ear development in mice.

Published in the Sept. 15, 2012 General and Comparative Endocrinology journal, "Knockdown of leptin A expression dramatically alters zebrafish development" explores leptin's evolution, or what it used to do, to provide clues to its impact on humans.

"There is some evidence that leptin deficiencies in fish likely have the same effect on humans, so this may be pointing toward something more widespread than we thought," Londraville says. "Perhaps more research should be spent on the sensory effects of leptin, which hasn't received much attention."

Londraville and his research colleagues will further their research, which was initially launched with a $250,000 National Institutes of Health grant. The team was granted an additional $435,000 in NIH funding, which they will use over the next three years to study how leptin is controlled differently in mammals and fish and the resulting consequences.

###

About The University of Akron

The University of Akron offers more than 300 associate, bachelor's, master's, doctorate and law degree programs with accreditations by 35 professional agencies. With nearly 30,000 students and $46.7 million in sponsored research awards, UA is among the nation's strongest public universities focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and investment in community and economic growth. Programs are targeted to diverse groups of learners, including full-time, part-time and on-line students, veterans, and adults returning to the classroom. The distinctive Akron Experience enhances post-graduate success through internships and co-ops, academic research (both undergraduate and graduate), study abroad, on-campus student employment, and service projects.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/uoa-no092612.php

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